IBM has been attempting for decades to develop a computer program that can defeat a human player in chess. Originally, they worked on the assumption that all that needed to be done was to design a system that looked farther ahead in the game than humans. However, after some pretty brutal defeats, they did some research into how humans played chess and got some remarkable results. Chessmasters rarely consider more than two or three moves at any given time, and they rarely think ahead more than two to three moves. They simply make the best possible move in the present situation, which is much better advice than trying to see through to a distant end.

How many moves ahead did you really think?Were you prepared for all the consequences of your actions?

The problem is, most people only think about the immediate and obvious results of their actions and decisions. They are feeding off the plate of instant gratification and "results now!" They want something. They consider the fastest point between point A and point B and run with it. They may make some adjustments for point C and point D, but they are mostly thinking laterally. They are missing the big picture.

Judy and her friends considered their boss to be a mean ogre who was asking too much of them and making unfair demands. They were tired of her criticism and wanted to take charge of their lives by assuming control of their jobs in the way they saw things. They found reasons to attack and accuse their boss of unfair and preferential treatment. They brought their accusations to the corporate level and after a long and bloody fight brought down their boss. She was dismissed from her position and Judy and her friends gained the freedom they desired. The new manager was easier to manipulate and was less likely to confront them about their behavior and production. They drank a toast to their impressive overthrow of the evil leader.

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum.

The company Judy and her friends worked for was dependent on maintaining a positive relationship with their client. They had one client and operated on that client's property, working as a management service for elements of their client's operations they would rather have not handled themselves. Judy and her friends took their jobs mostly for granted. It was something to pay the bills and all that good stuff. Their vision only saw their former boss as a dragon in need of slaying. They could only think so many moves ahead.

Blood on the streets it's up to my ankles.

Had Judy and her friends looked into the history of their company, they would have seen that they were almost dismissed by the client two years earlier because of gross mismanagement and failure to meet agreed upon objectives. One thing had salvaged the relationship their company had with their client. The previous manager had come in with a mandate to correct the operation. The former manager had hired three times as many people as were needed and placed people in positions they were dangerously overqualified for. Their former manager, the mean, fire-breathing dragon, had saved the day. It had to be bloody. There was no other way. Layoffs had been unnecessary because the original manager had hired so many malcontents and mental defectives that they basically fired themselves through gross incompetence. Now the dragon had to improve production and heal relations with the client by making things work the way they were supposed to. This was impossible with Judy and her friends wanting to do things the way they wanted to and were accustomed to.

Blood on the streets it's up to my thigh.

How many moves ahead did you really think? Did you consider the backlash that would result from your actions? Did you consider all the elements of what would result from what you achieved? Did you really think they would promise you that rose garden once you did what you did and got away with it?

You think you thought it through. You thought about the rich rewards you would reap. Yes, it all seemed to glitter like gold. Judy and her friends thought the same way. They scoffed at suggestions that their triumph would not turn out the way the way they expected. They never calculated all the stats. The dragon was very well liked and respected by the client. Judy and her friends were not especially well liked by the client. The story of what went down leaked to the client. Conference calls were held. Nothing could be done, the decision had been made and people were scrambling for excuses. The whole company became a badly stinking rotten rose in the eyes of the client, who made it simple. "Now, please, get rid of Judy and her friends. They are the most useless people you have and you could replace them with one dot matrix printer." But, they couldn't. Judy and her friends had scored a coup and any action taken against them would be seen as some form of vengeance. The company had put themselves in a position where they could not act in their own best interests. They had not thought enough moves ahead. They just sought to alleviate an internal personality clash. That's human resources for you.

Ghosts haunt the young child's fragile, eggshell mind.

The achievement of Judy and her friends produced ripples that turned into waves that isolated them on their own little island. Some of Judy's friends had tried to defect. They didn't want to be associated with the plan that went wrong. The entire company had been put on notice. The client wants improved service or the company will be kicked off its property. They don't really want to remove the company, they have many friends there, but they can taste blood and they don't like the taste any longer. They will remain angry over the decision made by the corporate arm of the company they employ to manage for them until the end of time, or at least until some way is found to remove Judy and her friends.

How many moves ahead do you think?

I am currently capable of thinking 48 moves aheadThis is why I rarely remember anything